Preview: Redskins face one of the NFL's best teams in Raiders

ASHBURN – The Redskins are 1-1 and feeling much better after a win in Los Angeles last Sunday. There's not much time to strut, though. The Raiders are coming to town. Oakland is one of the NFL's best teams. The Redskins face a difficult task in containing the Silver and…

American football

ASHBURN – The Redskins are 1-1 and feeling much better after a win in Los Angeles last Sunday. There’s not much time to strut, though. The Raiders are coming to town.

Oakland is one of the NFL’s best teams. The Redskins face a difficult task in containing the Silver and Black’s multifaceted offense Sunday night in primetime. Washington needs a win to pull its record above .500 for the first time this season and to avoid heading into another tough game in Kansas City in a hole.

Here are some of the factors, on offense and defense, that are likely to define who wins and who loses on Sunday Night Football at FedEx Field.

When the Redskins have the ball

Kirk Cousins has had an iffy start to 2017. For Washington to keep up with the Raiders attack, Cousins will need to look more like he did last season when he was both an efficient passer and an aggressive one when going downfield.

Cornerback David Amerson, a former Redskin himself, should spend some time matched up against former Raider Terrelle Pryor Sr., but, in general, the Redskins should try to attack Oakland’s corners on the outside. Washington has averaged 4.9 net yards per passing attempt while Oakland has averaged 7.7, but the Redskins have the personnel to do better. If they’re going to keep pace, Cousins’ connection with players like Pryor and Josh Doctson will need to show development.

It’s not just making big plays, however. After a great outing in the run game last Sunday, Washington would do well to show that that success on the ground wasn’t just a fluke in order to keep the Raiders defense guessing. The Raiders have put up five sacks in two games, and it’s not just because of MVP-caliber defensive end Khalil Mack. Oakland has been getting its defensive backs, particularly safety Karl Joseph, involved when it dials up the blitz.

The effect of this is twofold. First, sometimes the blitzers get home. Second, it can distract attention and blockers from Mack, making it more likely that he’s able to make big plays. Particularly if Mack goes after Redskins right tackle Morgan Moses, who is dealing with a sprained ankle, Washington will need to devote multiple blockers to him and be clear about assignments.

That’s a nearly impossible task if the Raiders are dealing with a one-dimensional offense. The Redskins will need to make the Raiders respect both the run and the pass in order to force the defense to be reactive, not aggressive.

“I think it’s good to be able to win in multiple ways,” coach Jay Gruden said. “It’s going to be important.”

When the Raiders have the ball

It’s just through two games, but Oakland is averaging an NFL-high 35.5 points per game entering Sunday’s contest. Quarterback Derek Carr is thriving in Todd Downing’s offense and has thrown five touchdown passes with no interceptions. Out of the backfield, Marshawn Lynch, Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington have the Raiders ranked fifth in the league with 144.5 rushing yards per game.

“There’s nothing they’re not doing well,” Gruden said.

One challenge with Carr is his quick release. With clean, efficient passing he’s completing 75 percent of his passes.

“It gets frustrating for pass rushers,” Gruden said. “You know, you say, ‘Rush the quarterback, rush the quarterback,’ and the ball’s gone — at one point I think the average was under two seconds that he gets the ball out of his hands. So, the big thing is to make him feel the pressure if we don’t get home. We’ll get our hands up, maybe bat some balls, but still I think if you make the quarterback uncomfortable, even if you don’t get the sack, it can be equally as important as getting the sack.”

The other way to slow Carr’s release is to have good enough coverage that he’s not immediately sure where to throw. Bashaud Breeland and Josh Norman have both gotten off to good starts, but they’ll have their toughest challenge in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree. Kendall Fuller’s development should help the Redskins attack the Raiders underneath game, particularly when they move Cooper into the slot.

On the ground, of course, the challenge is Marshawn Lynch, who has 121 rushing yards through the Raiders first two games. The Redskins are going to need to tackle soundly at multiple levels to bring him down. Washington’s run defense has been better so far this season — holding both the Eagles and Rams under 100 yards rushing — but Lynch presents another challenge especially given Mason Foster’s shoulder, which he dislocated on Sunday.

“I am not going to stop him,” Gruden joked. “Hopefully, I think it’s just going to be a group effort like it is with every great back in the NFL that you face. Todd Gurley’s a different type of back but, you know, it takes more than one. He might jump over one guy and the next guy’s going to have to come get him. Marshawn might stiff arm one guy but the next two or three guys are going to come get him. It’s got to be a group effort and we’ve got to run to the football — all 11 of them on defense have got to pursue to the football with great passion.”

Raiders tried to sign LB Zach Brown before he chose Redskins

Preview: Redskins face one of the NFL’s best teams in Raiders

Wizards announce training camp…

There is good news on the injury report this week for the Minnesota Vikings heading into Week 5 to take on the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. For three weeks now, the Minnesota Vikings have turned to backup quarterback Case Keenum to steer the ship as the starter. Now, there is hope that Sam […]
Week 5 injury report: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears - The Viking Age - The Viking Age - A Minnesota Vikings Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and…

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Iowa State's Joel Lanning played both offense and defense against No. 3 Oklahoma.
Lanning started the game at middle linebacker, then entered the game at quarterback with about four minutes left in the first quarter.
With Oklahoma ahead 24-13 at halftime, Lanning had 25 yards passing, 18 yards rushing and three tackles. His role changed because starting quarterback Jacob Park went on leave for undisclosed medical reasons.
Lanning became the first Iowa State player s…

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant threw for 200 yards and a touchdown before leaving with an ankle injury as the second-ranked Tigers defeated Wake Forest 28-14 on Saturday to move to 6-0 for a straight season.
There was no immediate word on the severity of Bryant's injury. He left the game in the third quarter after Travis Etienne's 1-yard touchdown run put Clemson ahead 21-0. Trainers looked at Bryant's ankle and took him into the sideline medical tent. Bryant tested h…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nick Chubb ran for two touchdowns and 138 yards, and fifth-ranked Georgia routed Vanderbilt 45-14 Saturday despite missing three players from the Bulldogs' stingy defense.
Georgia (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) continued its best start since 2012 when the Bulldogs reached the SEC championship. The Bulldogs also avenged a 17-16 loss to Vanderbilt last year by beating the Commodores for the 20th time in the past 23 games in this series.
Georgia ran through and o…

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Trace McSorley threw for 245 yards and a touchdown, Saquon Barkley ran for two scores in the second half, and No. 4 Penn State beat Northwestern 31-7 on Saturday.
McSorley completed 25 of 34 passes. He threw a 10-yard touchdown to backup quarterback Tommy Stevens in the second quarter and added a 5-yard TD run in the fourth.
Barkley scored on a 1-yard leap and 53-yard dash in the third quarter to make it 24-0. The Heisman Trophy candidate finished with 75 yards r…

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Kyle Kempt passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns, including a 25-yarder to Allen Lazard that put Iowa State ahead with 2:19 left in the fourth quarter and Joel Lanning made plays on offense and defense to the Cyclones to a stunning 38-31 upset of No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday.
The loss snapped Oklahoma's nation-leading 14-game win streak and the Sooners' 18-game winning streak against the Cyclones that dated to 1990. It was just Iowa State's second victory against O…

The Cleveland Browns are one of a handful of teams that have a great shot at landing the top overall pick in next year’s draft, but veteran offensive lineman Joe Thomas finds it laughable that fans think an NFL team would lose games on purpose.Many believe USC quarterback Sam Darnold is a can’t-miss NFL prospect — one that is so good rebuilding teams would tank for him. Thomas said that is never a good idea in football.“It’s always fun for fans and the media to have that narrative because i…

From Lombardi and Landry through Reggie and Brett, Troy and Emmitt.
From the tundra of Lambeau to the gap in the Texas Stadium roof to Jerry's palace.
Packers-Cowboys has been one of the NFL's most entertaining and meaningful rivalries for decades. Whether it was the Ice Bowl or A-Rod's impromptu pass to Jared Cook, people (and players and coaches) remember these matchups.
They'll be back at it on Sunday when Green Bay (3-1) visits Dallas (2-2).
"Ahhh, yeah," says Packers receiver Jordy…

As the slate of Week 5 NFL games kick off, we should see some teams favored to win fall short of expectations. Could the last-place team in the AFC North actually win its first game? There are plenty of reasons to expect its defense can take advantage of a weak opponent.On a west coast road trip, don’t count out a bumbling Baltimore Ravens squad just yet. They might just surprise no matter who is at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders. Also out west, how many yards and points will the S…

Through the first quarter of the 2017 season, Pittsburgh Steelers signal caller Ben Roethlisberger simply hasn’t been the same player. It might not show in the team’s AFC North-best 3-1 record, but Big Ben’s regression has been more than eye-opening.Heck, it might not even show up in the basic stats. Roethlisberger is completing 63 percent of his passes with six touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also on pace to put up over 3,800 passing yards for an offense that ranks in the middle of …